13 Things We Learned From Dark Side Of The Ring: Ludvig Borga

10. Why He Got Kicked Out Of Japanese Wrestling

Dark Side Of The Ring Ludvig Borga
VICE

Halme fell into the wrestling biz when some folks at various gyms pointed out that his big, bulky frame would be perfect for it. Seeing dollar signs and (more importantly) the chance to gain notoriety, Tony started training under Verne Gagne and made his debut in Herb Abrams old UWF as 'The Viking'. Yes, yes that was a nod to his old street fighting days back home in Finland.

Eventually, Halme found his way to Japan in 1990. He gained some buzz early on in New Japan because he was a big, strong gaijin who worked a rugged, no-nonsense style. Things seemed to be going well for Tony, but then his personality caught up with him. He was booted out of the company following a bar brawl with Scott Norton in 1993. Facts about this are still shadowy.

Halme claimed in 2000 that Norton didn’t like him because he was Finnish, but other talking heads on Dark Side say Norton had a problem with how racist Tony was towards people. It's easy to believe that Tony mouthed off to a lot of folks, because he was never shy about airing his controversial opinions no matter who was within earshot. 

According to VICE's doc, there's a solid chance former WCW man Norton took umbrage with what he was hearing and decided to do something about it. New Japan viewed Halme as a nuisance, so they elected to get rid of him ASAP. He was unceremoniously dumped by the promotion, which was probably for the best.

Tony was a ticking time bomb in hotels, bars and restaurants.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.